You Should Be Wearing Orange

Here is an equation for you: Rain + low light = Poor visibility.

It seems like a lot of drivers don't know their basic math.

If you drive in the rain when it's dark with your headlights off then you are either lacking brain functionality or you are malicious verging on evil. You are an accident waiting to happen and the sad thing is that someone innocent is going to be involved in the accident with you.

I am not saying that 50 percent of drivers drive without their headlights when they should use them and I am not saying that 10 percent of people do this, but if it is 1 percent or less doesn't make it any less heinous or dangerous.

Get a conscience and turn on your headlights. It's against the law to drive in the dark without headlights on and in many states it's against the law to drive without headlights in the rain. These laws are there for a reason and if you have a driver's license you should know the law. It's a matter of safety and thinking about your fellow travelers on the road. It's also a matter of how drivers with mild visual impairments may not be able to see you or young/newbie drivers who may not know to look for dark vehicles.

I don't know if police are concerned with giving tickets for this infraction, but since it is such a dangerous offense I hope that they do, and I hope the ticket is expensive and comes with 4 points (and a dope slap).

No Headlights

 

I just don't understand it! Why do certain drivers insist on driving at dusk or at night without their headlights on? Are they trying to save gas or money? Are they trying to save the environment? Are they attempting to be stealthy for some wacky reason? Or are they just mentally out of it?

Whatever the reason, it is certainly misguided thinking. This is a safety issue. That's the bottom line here. Other people cannot see these vehicles, or can't see them until it's too late. My daughter is a new driver on the roads. I don't want her crashing into a car she didn't see. And she is not the only new driver, there are thousands of new drivers on the roads. Driving dark isn't just dangerous to my daughter or other new drivers. It's dangerous to everyone.

I saw a car drive by a police car in Colts Neck, New Jersey this week with its headlights off and there was very little light in the sky, if any. The cop just sat there and let him/her go by. Today it was raining cats and dogs and nearly pitch dark, and a white SUV , nearly invisible against a backdrop of white snow, rain and darkness went by going the other direction. The car in front of me flashed him, I flashed him, the guy behind me flashed him. He/she kept driving dark. "Oh, I have a white car, so I don't need to turn on my lights." It's exactly times like that that I wish I was a policeman, because I would slap a ticket on that Bozo or Bozette faster than they could say "But I'm saving energy!"

I don't get it, really I don't. This stupid practice endangers other drivers' lives. And a lot of people seem to do it because I see it nearly every day.

Let me just get this out there so dark driver dummies can think about it. The amount of gasoline you save by not using your headlights for 15 or 30 extra minutes is insignificant. In fact leaving your headlights on all day while you drive makes NO statistically noticeable difference in gas mileage in your car or truck. None. Look it up. Better yet I have done it for you!

Stop endangering people's lives! Why do you think the police are supposed to give tickets for driving without your lights on when it's dark? Because it endangers everyone else. Just because you can still see where you're going isn't the issue! Oh, and driving with parking/running lights on in the dark is just as dangerous because with everyone else using headlights, the weaker looking running lights get lost, and washed out by the brighter lights around them.

Please be a safer driver. Drive with your headlights on in the rain, or anytime the sky is darker, such as dusk, nighttime, and heavily overcast days.